Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-09-13
SUGAR In THE SORGHUM.
AND A PROCESS THAT GETS IT OUT
IN GREAT SHAPE.

lief That There's Millions in IA New
Use for Furnace Stag as a Fertilizer
Another Cattle Epidemic Comins-The
Great Obelisk.
WASHINGTON CITY, Sept 13.-Commis-
sioner Colman has just returned from an
official visit to Fort Scott, Kan, where the
department of agriculture Is conducting ex-
periments in making sugar from sorghum by
the diffusion process, and expresses himself
as being delighted with the results obtained
already. He says the experiments consist in
the trial of new process in making sugar in
this country, which dispenses entirely with
the costly and ponderous mills and steam en-
gines, etc, and uses a far simpler and less ex-
pensive method for extracting the juice, by
which all the saeeharine matter is obtained,
while by the former method from 30 to 40 per
cent on the average of the juice, even with
the southern sugar-cane, is left in the
cane after passing through the mill,
and with sorghum a still larger quantity,
because of greater difficulty in extracting.
The new process is called the diffusion or
saturation process The cane is cut into chips
and passed into a battery of twelve cells,
each holding ton of chips. Hot water is
then applied, which RAPIDLY exhausts the sac
charine matter, and so thoroughly that there
is scarcely trace of it left. The cells are
speedily filled. manipulated, and emptied,
one man attending to the entire operation.
The process is as rapid as the old method,
less costly, and enables the manufacturer to
secure and utilize all the juice, instead OF
aho haIF al,
ments were made last year. but the cutters,
machinery, and methods were all new then,
and difficulties occurred which could not be
overcome at once Some $1,000 pounds OF
sugar were, however, made last year, though
the experiments were considered failure.
The commissioner said:
Having had more time and the experience
of last year to guide us, | am more than
pleased to be able to say that all the Difficult
ties seem now to have been overcome and nc
Touring mill is more surely turning out its
quota of -four than is the Parkinson sugar
works at Fort Scott, Kan, turning out its
quota of sugar to-day, and sugar of the best
quality, polarizing $50 The mill is capable
of working up every twenty hours $50 tons
of cane making therefrom 1900 pounds OF
sugar VI lHuft lut UlSl swinging Ill
the centrifugals from 100 to 80 pounds OF
sugar per ton of cane was obtained, and
about twenty pounds more are expected
from the second swinging. A yield of from
10 to Is tons of cane per acre was being Sc
cured, which would produce, by this new
process, from 300 to 800 pounds of sugar
This sugar is worth by the carload, 81 cents
| per pound left there after the first week.
work, and it was estimated that over 100, 00l
pounds of sugar had already been made. The
| sugar was there to be seen by everybody
too
Nor is this all To every ton of cane, aside
from the sugar in it, there are some ten OIL
| twelve gallons of molaSses, and also the seed
| raised upon the Caue, amounting to about
twenty-five bushels per acre and just a
good for feeding all kinds of stock as Indiar
corn. Indeed, the seed, it is estimated, will
pay for raising the cane which is meri
pos sessed by no other sugar plant The de
partment is also conducting experiments a
| Rio Grande, N j., with the same process
| and have Just received a telegram from ouI
| superintendent, who saws: AS nearly as cal
| be estimated the first acre of cane will yielC
about l, 100 pounds of crys allied sugar Thu
| confirms the experiments at Fort Scott, tn
yield not being quite as large in New Jer
| sey, the soil not being so rich.
Il can not see why oar people shoulinot e
to making sugar A complete sugar factory
| will cost about As much AS a Touring mill
and can be run at great profits according tt
| the p eSent experiments Farmers are glal
| TO raise the cane at - per ton, and at that i
| paws bitter than other products. Their,
| is an overpoduction of most farm crops
making prices ruinously low, and if the new
industry will employ portion Of those nov
raising other thi ngs at no profit, it will Civ,
| great relief to the farming classes, and opel
a most promising field for both farmers ant
manufacturers, The annual consumption o.
sugar per capita is about fort
pounds. Our population is doubling
| every twenty-five years. At tn
end of the next twenty-five years we will bt
paying at least s2o0, 900 for sugar pei
year. This money We can keep at home ant
distribute among our own people"